Jesse Jackson, Jr. Editor’s Note: Judge sentences Jesse Jackson Jr. to 2.5 years in prison after guilty plea in campaign case. Wife gets 1 year prison for filing false tax returns. WASHINGTON (NNPA) – When the story broke that Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) had used political donations as his own piggy bank, many people were surprised. Even though prosecutors said Jackson spent thousands between August 2005 and April 2012 at restaurants, nightclubs, on travel, high-end electronics and a gold-plated Rolex watch, it was the expenditures that seemed like he was preparing for a Halloween party that received the most attention and ridicule.